Learned Behaviors
by EwanMcGregorIsMyHomeboy12
Summary: While Anakin works in the Senate, Ashoka is spending her afternoon with Obi-Wan...teaching younglings. To a Padawan, used to the fast paced, dangerous rushes of Galactic War, how could a day like this possible teach her anything?
1. The Great Storyteller

**(A/N) Post season one during a return to the Jedi temple. Obi-Wan and Ashoka piece, I find their relationship interesting, and wondered about all the missing moments of how they became so close for her to be so depressed after his death. Little bit of filler, NOT A ROMANTIC PIECE. Please R and R as always**

Spending a day teaching younglings with Obi-Wan was not Ashoka's usual idea of fun. She was typically spinning wild battle tales at the heels of her Master, destroying droids, or ramming through Separatist brigades. Even at the temple, when she was with Anakin, they would spend the day sparring, or doing flight training, or running through the various obstacle courses constructed in the gardens outside the temple. Today, she would not be doing any of those things.

She walked in step with her Master's master, walking slower than she had to with Anakin to match his strides. He wasn't in a hurry, but she wasn't sure she had ever seen Obi-Wan in an actual hurry. Exasperated with Anakin? Yes. Diffusing bombs? Yes. But never in an obligatory rush like her own master always seemed to be in. They were walking in comfortable silence, or at least, she assumed it was comfortable for him. He always seemed calm and judicious, his force signature wasn't the powerfully erratic one of Anakin, but strong and comforting. She admired him for that.

But she also couldn't help but feel that the next few hours might be dreadfully boring. She had begged Anakin to let her work with the older children on fight training, or run flight simulators, or even work in the med bay. But Anakin was insistent she spend the day with Obi-Wan, she suspicioned to strengthen the bond between them. Their days in the temple were numbered, Anakin was spending his in the Senate, advocating on a bill about weapons development with Master Windu and Master Mundi. It genuinely sounded dreadfully boring, so she was happy for the chance to not attend.

"They are excited to have us," Obi-Wan had stopped and was smiling at her, something she tried to return. He slid open the door in to the Youngling training room.

"Mas'er Obi!" She heard the sound of a small herd charging towards them, at the front a Twi'lek girl who wrapped her arms around Obi-Wan's legs. The others seemed just as excited to see him, crowding around where they had come in with little shouts of joy. They were young, the humans were two, maybe three years old, the other species roughly the same.

He patted the girl on her head, "Hello, Niana." And she smiled up at him, letting go of his legs so they could walk.

"What are you going to teach us today, Mas'er Obi?" all of the other younglings grew silent, watching with anticipation for his words.

"I've actually brought some help, today, young ones. This is Padawan Ashoka Tano, she is training under my old Padawan Anakin Skywalker." A dozen sets of eyes turned to Ashoka, who couldn't help but smile at their tiny faces.

"Children!" One of the senior Jedi whose named Ashoka did not know peered around the corner. She was old, very reminiscent of Master Nu the librarian, "Come sit, we don't want to be rude to Master Kenobi and Padawan Tano."

"Sorry!" One of them squeaked, and all of them herded back into the sitting area where they took their seats on the mat. Niana, the little Twi'lek, took hold of two of Obi-Wan's fingers. "Will you sit next to me, Mas'er Obi?" He laughed gently and nodded, following her. She pulled him to one circle of the rug where he sat between her and a male Wookie who looked very excited to be next to the Jedi Master. Ashoka stood awkwardly for a moment, before she felt a tug on her utility belt. A Teevan, humanoid male smiled up at her, one of his teeth missing, and patted the spot next to him. She sat down, crossing her legs and looking around the circle. The master in charge of them sat next to her, moving quite gracefully for such as older human.

"Now, younglings, Master Kenobi had promised us some interesting stories for today, everyone be quiet and listen." Ashoka almost inwardly groaned, the kids were cute, but this was glorified story time.

"I actually thought Ashoka could start today, Master." All of their faces turned expectantly to her, and she smiled a little nervously. She was good at speaking to adults, stating her opinion for missions and matters of the Senate. Children were a different story. She decided quickly to tell the story about the Lurman colony.

She wove a fantastic tale, she thought to herself, spinning the story where her master had been injured, and she and Master Secura had gone off to find help. She told tales of Rex, and the brave clone soldiers, and finally of the Lurman's who were not warriors but had risen up against the injustice of the droids to free their people from the Separatists. By the end they were awestruck, and as she looked up at Obi-Wan, he was smiling, clearly amused by her story.

"That sound scary!" One of the said, his basic a blend of actual basic and a language she was unfamiliar with.

"Missions can be scary, but that's part of being a Jedi. If they aren't scary, you won't know if you can ever deal with something like that. The force gives you strength to move through the fear, and grow as a Jedi." All of them nodded, "Okay, now its Master Kenobi's turn." All fo them looked over at him now. She realized, she may have won their momentary attention, but he was clearly their favorite. One of them even seemed to be bouncing a bit in anticipation of his story.

"I think I'll follow in Padawan Tano's footsteps, and tell you all about a time when I was a Padawan." It caught Ashoka by surprise, not only was it strange to think of Obi-Wan as a Padawan, he always seemed so in control of himself, but she had rarely heard him ever mention it except in passing. Anakin had told her of Obi-Wan's Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and his murder at the hands of a Sith, but beyond that, she knew little of the reserved Jedi's past.

The tale he wove was one of adventure, that she had never heard before. They had been stranded on an abandoned industrial planet, where he and Qui-Gon had gone into disguise to infiltrate a group of radicals. The story was tampered down for the current audience, but it still riveting and full of excitement, adventures, and the force. She had thought she had told her story well, but she was nothing on him. As she listened, his words seemed to become reality, and she could picture every place he described with perfect detail. The younglings in the circle reacted physically to his words, gasping when appropriate, even clapping once or twice in excitement.

By the end, they were worked up into a frenzy, ready to hear another one, which he obliged with a short tale of how he and Qui-Gon had met his friend Dexter Jettster who owned a café that she and Anakin had been to not all that long ago. She didn't listen as intently, more familiar with the story. Instead, she watched the children, and decided that even if they had heard his story before, they would probably listen with equal enthusiasm.

"He is wonderful with them." The master spoke to her, a bemused smile on her wrinkled face. "They love when he comes to visit them, so few of the Masters take the time to." Ashoka thought back to her own time as a youngling. Master Yoda had been a frequent visitor, and on occasion, Master Fisto had come to the lightsaber training of the older ones. She couldn't recall ever seeing, at least not regularly, the rest of the council. "You, too, dear, have been excellent today. We all deserve a break sometimes."

Ashoka knew she meant the children, who, as obi-Wan finished his second tale, were laughing joyfully. She felt the warm comfort of the force emanating from their innocence, and the strong, protective signature that Obi-Wan held.

'I'm afraid Padawan Tano and I must be going, younglings." Their disappointment was palatable, but they knew better than to protest. The master stood, and they all formed a neat line behind her, waving good-bye to Obi-Wan, who had risen on the matt and waved back, and to Ashoka, who had moved to stand beside him. "We may be back soon." Their happiness surged as Ashoka watched them disappear.

He turned, and she followed as he led them back down the hallway. "I'm sorry if this wasn't the idea of an exciting afternoon, Ashoka." He did seem genuinely concerned she hadn't enjoyed herself, which she hadn't been expecting to. She though back of the story he had told of himself and Qui-Gon, and realized what an exceptional Jedi he was. He was, of course, brilliant in battle, and in strategy, but also in diplomacy, the promotion of peace, and in the almost tangible kindness she had seen him display. This foe example, a Jedi Master, member of the council, spending a good deal of his afternoon speaking with jabbering younglings was not something anyone else took the time to do.

"Honestly, Master Kenobi," his eyes were expectant. "That was a lot more fun than I thought." His happiness was evident, and as they walked back through the halls, moving to the Room of One Thousand Fountains, she thought of what she could ask him about. What kind of adventures he might be able to tell her.


	2. Defensive Manuvers

**(A/N) Thanks for the response on the first chapter, I'm glad you all find their relationship as intriguing as I do. Hope you enjoy this one as well, features some characters form the Gathering Arc. Please Read and Review, as always!**

Ahsoka had thought that she and Obi-Wan were going to meditate after the younglings, but as she followed his quiet footsteps, she realized they were going to the sparring rooms. "The swordsmasters have requested help with training a new group who have just gone through the Gathering." He said to her and she looked at him quizzically. "I believe you might be familiar with this group of younglings."

"Ahsoka!" Petro turned towards her as she and Obi-Wan came through the door. The other younglings, the group she had accompanied on their trip to gather their lightsaber crystals, also turned, calling out her name or waving in acknowledgement. She smiled, with being away at war so much, she had not gotten to see them for a long time.

"Master Kenobi." The rumbling voice of Jedi master Drallig followed. Master Drallig has been the resident Jedi swordsman for years, Ahsoka had heard even since before Mace Windu had been a Padawan. He was serene, kind, but a brilliant fighter, his manipulation of his green lightsaber almost a work of art to watch. He bowed to Obi-Wan, his features weathered with age, but his eyes shone with the keen brightness he always seemed to exhibit. "Padawan Tano." As Obi-wan returned his bow, he did a short nod to Ahsoka which earned her a look of pride from the younglings. To be acknowledged by Cin Drallig was something most Jedi waited a lifetime for.

"Younglings," He addressed his class, who stood sharply, listening to him, "Now that you hold your real lightsabers, I have asked Master Kenobi to aid in my instruction. He, along with Padawan Tano, will help you refine your form so that you may be not only more efficient, but more versatile in battle."

"What will we be learning today, Master Drallig?" Katooni asked, her lightsaber already held in her hand.

"I have asked Master Kenobi to further your instruction in Soresu, the most defensive form of lightsaber combat."

"What's the point of learning just defense?" Petro blurted out, and under Ahsoka's gaze, he blushed deeply at his own outburst. "I mean…if we're attacked, we'll need to know how to fight back."

Master Drallig did not seem troubled by Petro's outburst, sharing an amused look with a still silent Obi-Wan before replying. "You should consider this, Petro; Master Kenobi is the living Master of the Soresu form, and he is the only living Jedi to have defeated a Sith Lord." Petro looked at Obi-Wan, his blush deepening as he quickly looked down at his boots. When Ahsoka looked at Obi-Wan, he realized he was blushing as well, although he was much better at hiding it, startled by the Master's words. She knew Obi-Wan wasn't arrogant, but him being an expert at Soresu was common knowledge, she marveled for a moment at his humbled attitude. It was not something his former Padawan shared.

"Sorry, Master. I didn't consider that." Master Drallig just smiled, bringing back Ahsoka's memories of her own days as a Padawan, trying to earn his praise. She too, had always spoken her mind, and usually just as brashly, she had been in his shoes.

"I leave them in your care, Master Kenobi. Padawan Tano." And he left, going through a set of doors to where a group of Padawans were waiting for late stage deflection training.

"Hello, everyone. Why don't we start with introductions?" They went around in a circle, each youngling eager to get to speak with him. "I believe you all are familiar with Ahsoka."

Gungi said something back in Wookie, to which they all nodded in agreement. She was flattered, they obviously felt highly of her.

"Why don't we start with the basic Soresu fighting stance? Who can demonstrate?" They paired off into two lines, each one drawing their swords back into a defensive position. "That's correct. Why does this position give you more leverage for defense?"

"It lets you move more easily, pivot, and view your attacker from most angles quickly. "Petro spoke up, clearly trying to make up for his earlier outburst, afraid, maybe that he had offended Obi-Wan. Ahsoka almost laughed at that, the only person she had ever seen coming close to offending the resolute Jedi Master was Anakin, who had spent over ten years alongside Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan nodded.

"What then are the advantages of this fighting stance?" He moved his own body into what she recognized as his traditional stance, blade pulled back over his shoulder, two fingers pointing ahead, one leg extended. The looks on their faces said it all, he looked like a warrior that all of them were aspiring to be. It was interesting and uplifting to see such admiration.

"It lets you see ahead of you, defend your sides, and the way your feet are positioned, it lets you move into both attack and defense positions more easily." Katooni answered this time, and Obi-Wan smiled gently at her, nodding. He eased back into standing normally, and over the course of the next few minutes showed them how to move through the easy motions of basic Soresu. All pretext of it being a weak form forgotten, they adsorbed the information eagerly, moving into their pairs to practice. He went down the line, personally working where he saw them making small mistakes.

He would even take his saber, letting them try and attack him, blocking their moves deftly o demonstrate the form. They absorbed it, taking it in easily, as Ahsoka worked from the other side of the room. After almost half an hour of practice, he stopped them all, including Gungi and Byph, who Ahsoka had been working with herself.

"Ahsoka and I are going to demonstrate how Soresu works on other forms of combat." He gestured to her. "Would you mind?" Ashoka drew her two lightsabers, taking her traditional Ataro stance, while Obi-Wan drew back into his. She grinned at him; she couldn't remember ever actually sparring with Obi-Wan, only Anakin, who was so competitive, the pair of them usually ended up singed and bruised by the end of the night.

Fighting Anakin's former master was much different. He didn't make the hairpin defensive maneuvers that Anakin did, and she quickly realized it was because he didn't have to. His entire body moved fluidly, his lightsaber simply an extension of himself, and despite her best efforts, he was in full control of this fight. She tired a desperate, last ditch swing out with his foot, pushing one saber out of her hand with his own, and spinning the other through the air, catching it deftly and crossing it against his own.

The younglings were staring in awe, much as she was. He handed it back to her, retrieving her other form the floor and doing the same. "Alright, younglings, see if you can disarm your opponent as I've done here. We best use the training sabers though." He indicated to a box where they all scrambled to grab them and went back to their stages. She stood by Petro and Katooni, where they were both trying to imitate Obi-Wan's stance.

"He's amazing," Katooni said, her balance slightly off as Ahsoka turned her to where she could face Petro more evenly. His wasn't any better, her foot sticking out in a way that would give him a stark disadvantage if she went to his right side.

"Does he have a Padawan?" She realized now why Petro had been talking so much, trying to get Obi-Wan's attention. The General was out of the temple most of the time, fighting on distant planets in an elongating war. If Petro was going to try and be Obi-Wan's Padawan, he would have to get on his radar while he had the chance.

"My master was his old Padawan," She said, and let them start fighting, their lightsabers buzzing together as they surged with the force and tried to fight with the moved they had been shown by him. "I was supposed to be his second one."

"What happened?"

"I was assigned to Master Skywalker." She looked up at Obi-Wan, who was working Zatt and Ganodi towards the back of the room, both breathing hard, and wondered how different things might be if she had been Obi-Wan's Padawan. She couldn't imagine it, he was so different from Anakin, his demeanor, his fighting style, his connection to the force. She loved her master and would never want to trade him for anything, but it was an interesting thought to think that Obi-Wan could have been her master. With a strange realization, she thought that if he had been, she probably would have spent a lot more time doing things like this, helping younglings, teaching, meditating, than rummaging through garbage for old droids bits or sparring with Anakin.

"So, he might pick one of us then?" Ahsoka shrugged, letting them get back to fighting. It would be strange to see Obi-Wan with a Padawan, but then again, he had probably felt the same way about Anakin when she came around. And now, watching as Gungi finally managed to disarm Byph, spiraling the blade handle into an arc that Obi-Wan caught deftly before it could hit something, she realized that he probably would take another Padawan as soon as she was a knight.

Petro let out a cry of triumph, spending Katooni's lightsaber out of her hands in an excellent spin move. Obi-Wan smile dup over at them, as the girl gathered her weapon back from the floor for another round. And she realized, again, that if the timing was right, it would than likely be one of these younglings that would be his new Padawan. A small pang hit her in the stomach: when she was knighted, when Obi-Wan had a new apprentice, when this war was over, how often would she see Obi-Wan and Anakin again?

Then she realized she was worried for nothing: after all the three of them had done together, despite when everything changed, they would still be together. Going on missions, saving innocent people. They had always been together. They always would be.


	3. Family Ties

(A/N) Last Chapter, y'all. Thanks for all the support Please R and R

"Where are we going now, Master Kenobi?" It was getting dark outside the long slanting windows of the temple hallways. Anakin hadn't contacted her, she assumed he was still in meetings, but she suspicioned that he hadn't called her on purpose. It had been a long day, spent in gentler company than she was used to; though she did miss the high stakes action of her master, she hadn't realized how much she had needed this break.

"For a pastime I'm afraid that Anakin doesn't quite see the value of." He smiled rakishly at her, which she returned, following his quiet steps into the Room of a Thousand Fountains. "I always find that it's a nice way to decompress after being with the younglings. They can be quite the handful."

The room was almost empty, water flowing loudly around them; most Jedi were in the cafeteria for the evening meal, or going into the nightlife of Coruscant where they could unwind from a long day of warfare in the bars, clubs, and shops that asked few questions and expected fewer answers. "I agree." She was tired, fatigue pulling at her limbs as she followed him to settle onto a secluded patch of grass, the calm wind blowing over the pair of them. "I can only imagine Master Anakin as a Padawan."

She had not expected the gentle smile on Obi-Wan's face, she had perhaps expected him to laugh, but he stayed quiet, taking off his robe and shoes and laying them in a neat pile off the grass. "he is much the same as he is now." She waited, mimicking his stance, feet pressed together, hands folded, though hers threaded through the grass at her feet. "Kind and strong."

"Impulsive." She added, and he did laugh at that one, his eyes still fogged over with some emotion. "I can't remember the last time we were in here." And she honestly couldn't. Most of their days were spent inside of a cockpit, flying through invaded airspace, ramming through blockades with humanitarian supplies. Not under a waterfall, bathed in mist and blue light. Not with younglings, their screaming much less harrowing than the screeching of dilapidated metal and bombs.

He settled, relaxing into a pose, his back straight, his eyes closed. With his gaze gone, he went back into a view of no emotion, his face and body completely entrenched in his meditation. He was completely silent, only if she concentrated could she hear his soft breaths. But, perhaps most tellingly, she felt his force signature pulse and settle. It moved around her, inviting her in perhaps, providing a sense of security as protection. She marveled at it for a moment wondering exactly how much of that had been intentional, and how much was simply a product of his nature.

She tried to mimic his pose, to mimic his breathing, and after a few long minutes of trying, she could feel the rhythm of her force signature change. Her thoughts wonder, her emotions flow from her into the same space that surrounded them. But true to her nature, to Anakin's teaching, she grew restless.

"Master Kenobi?" He blinked slowly, his eyes open. But he didn't look surprised, in fact, he looked slightly amused. "Can we just talk?"

"Talk?" His tone was mild, his spine bent slightly from its unnaturally straight alinement. "About what?"

"I'm not sure." And she wasn't, there wasn't anything pressing going on, no need for them to talk. But still, she felt the urge. She had spent the day with him, she knew that she had learned quite a bit, and still, she wasn't sure. "You, I suppose."

"Me?" His brow furrowed, and he leaned back, his hands propping up his chin. "I don't understand."

"You know, tell me about yourself, Master Kenobi. You and Anakin, maybe." She leaned back, stretching out her legs, preparing for a story. She didn't get one.

"I'm not sure what you don't already know, Ahsoka. In some ways you know him better than I do." His eyes were clouded with that same emotion again, and something struck her. Obi-Wan didn't understand what he meant to Anakin. What she knew he meant to him.

"I doubt that, Master Kenobi." He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at her intently, his features gentle as they always were. "He sees you as a father."

Obi-Wan broke her gaze then, looking down. "That does not mean I know him. My own failures as a Master, Ahsoka, we all have failures. I was young when I took Anakin as my apprentice, still angry over the loss of my own master. I did so much that was wrong, he is a great Jedi. Far better than I could hope to be." She had not expected what she now saw that Obi-Wan considered pure honesty. A selfless sharing that weighed on her now. "He is training you to be a greater Jedi than either of us."

The stress she hadn't known she was carrying vanished. She saw now everything that Anakin had ever told her about Obi-Wan, but in the same breath, so much more than that. He didn't see his own value. He saw only his own failures as a Jedi. And only those. He carried the burden, losing his master, gaining an apprentice so young, being a master, never seeing his own value. He was the definition of an exemplary Jedi, and maybe it was a cold kind of irony that he could never see that.

"Why don't we go and get something to eat?" She could hear, over the sound of water, other Jedi start to trickle in for late evening meditation. They rose slowly and in silence, him pulling his boots back on and his robe. She followed suit, and they left in quiet silence, her feeling like there was a lot unsaid between them, but she didn't quite know what to say.

Obi-Wan stepped through the doorway first, and they made it all of two steps before he was stopped. "I knew I'd find you here, Old man." Anakin was leaning against the wall, and winked at him; "Obi-Wan's never been one for the exciting life, Ahsoka." He winked at the pair of them, and turned to lead the group of them towards the dining hall. "Me, on the other hand, always ready for adventure. Including whatever soup they're serving in the cafeteria tonight."

She listened to Anakin babble, explaining to Obi-Wan the finer points of his Senate meeting, which the older man listened to with mild interest. She watched him, carrying the weight of what she had realized, but as she saw them together, she felt something. It was Obi-Wan's signature again, strong and steady, complimented fully now by Anakin's, erratic and powerful.

As she watched, his eyes came over to her, his eyebrows up ticked. He gave her another gentle smile, and she reached out with the force to add her own to theirs, swirling around them in a wild pattern. If Anakin or Obi-Wan felt the change, they didn't acknowledge it. But then, why would they?

If they had always been a family, then nothing would change.


End file.
